When do you decide it's time for a new uke?

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cmaj7

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Hi gang, this is my first post, but I've been lurking for a while. :) I'm a beginner (I play a cheap little Kala soprano) and have been thinking a lot about my next uke.
I'm curious to know, when did you decide you wanted a new one? Did you make a conscious choice on a particular size/model because it filled a need? Did you just get tired of playing the same 'ol uke? Was it a gift? Share your story!
 
Yes :p :p
 
Curiosity, and the quest for "the" sound. At my age - old enough to remember the days before FM radio and enjoying them - the fun is in the experimentation, and life's too short to leave questions unanswered.
 
Oh this is going to be a fun thread. Most will answer, if honest, it is always a good time to buy a new uke. As for why one decides to buy a new uke the answers can be many and varied. I started out with a decent all laminate tenor but one month in I knew I was hooked and wanted an all solid koa tenor for the looks and the sound. Later I decided the concert size needed exploring, just because. I came to realize I also needed a car-uke to have handy so I bought a soprano. I have been having fun with the different sizes and increasing the quality of the instruments purchased.
 
Once you succumb to Ukulele Acquisition Syndrome, and/or the dog/kids/wife/yourself (delete as necessary) have been fed, bills paid, etc....there is never a "time" for a new uke. It happens at the right moment, hopefully with all prior conditions having been satisfied. Last new uke I bought was a head/heart wrangle.

I was itching to try cedar, and found a steal on a blemished Omega Music signature model. It's now my go to uke.
 
When the "right uke" rings your chime, you'll know it's time. (sounds like a good verse that should be in the UAS song)
 
SteveZ said:
Curiosity, and the quest for "the" sound. At my age - old enough to remember the days before FM radio and enjoying them - the fun is in the experimentation, and life's too short to leave questions unanswered.
Click to expand...

The reason for my first uke was just like SteveZ's. Then I really started to listen to/watch other ukuleles/players and knew that just like guitars (which I have played since I was 15) there were really substantial differences in sound/playability/build quality.

Once convinced that I would really like to explore this instrument, I decided to purchase a luthier made quality instrument. That was my MP tenor. The next level of discoveries were the variants. so the next purchase was a MM 6 string and then a Beansprout. I have to admit that there were other instances when I happened to see other instruments for sale and said, "Wow, that looks great and I can afford it so why not" which closes the decision making loop and brings us back to SteveZ's rationale "life's too short to leave questions unanswered".
 
I look at the calendar. If it's a day that ends in Y, a uke purchase is possible.
 
Yes like Freeda says or if Brian Griffin is making a new tenor will do it for me. He's making three now and I have dibs on the redwood top with rosewood sides and back. One in one out. Now to decide which one goes; or at least, that's what I tell my wife.

Welcome CMAJ, The UAS never ends.
 
Freeda said:
I look at the calendar. If it's a day that ends in Y, a uke purchase is possible.
Click to expand...

Ha! So, true. The only thing that keeps me from buying more frequently is having to sell one to keep to my stock to two. In fact, despite my two uke limit, I'm starting to think I may be more of a uke "collector" than player because I seem to be spend about 10x researching and admiring ukes than practicing/learning to play. Regardless, it's all about enjoying oneself, right?
 
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Good question. 'Upgrading' from your first uke to maybe a fancy uke eg, solid wood is fair enough. Already having nice solid wood ukes and buying more is another thing.

I am a one acoustic guitar, one electric guitar guy. if i 'upgrade'/change thats fine. Perfectly reasonable. However...

Just getting back to ukulele's after a few of years off i have fell into the same swap/change/add/replace habit i had.

Something about seeing several ukes on the sofa ready to be played/enjoyed/compared. Its impossible to stick to one or two... or three....

Al logic goes with these little things. Don't save me i'm fine... save yourself... if you want to. :D
 
Get a new uke when your significant other isn't watching what's coming in the door. A trench coat is a good thing... No kids are a good thing for UAS; that's how my pal Sandor wound up with 431 of them...or so...
 
Freeda said:
I look at the calendar. If it's a day that ends in Y, a uke purchase is possible.
Click to expand...
This pretty much sums it up for most of us!
Thanks for the laugh my friend....:D
 
In my first six months of playing uke, a little over a year ago, I bought 8 ukes, yes, UAS had me good. I always choose tenor cutaways with electronics, and bought online for looks and wood. They were all between $100-200 and reasonably ukes, but when I started feeling a need for a better uke, I heard that the Kala cedar/koa was especially good sounding, so I went and played one, then traded in three of my ukes for it (and quite happy with it).

Then the bug hit me again, but decided to order a custom from Vietnam at half the price of local luthiers. Turned out beautifully. Now I'm caught up in mini bass acquisition syndrome, bought one, ordered a custom from Vietnam, and converted a small electric guitar to a mini bass. Look what can happen to someone who was just going to play uke at the Music Center Ukule-Along last year.
 
My first real purchase was from need of a better instrument. I had started on a very cheap and badly made instrument. The next purchase was something that I dearly wanted and felt I needed. My third purchase was because I just had to have it. My next purchase is based on need, but I can't really say that, since I have what I need now. But I really do want it and really do need it. So that's my story and I'm sticking with it.
 
An honest answer? Well, I seem to have gotten the itch for a new Ukulele on an average of once every other day for the last couple of months. I mean seriously, I joined UU on July 15 this year. That pretty much identifies the date on which I decided to get serious about Ukulele again after a 15 to 20 year break. Since then I have acquired no less than 13 new Ukuleles, 3 of which haven't been delivered yet. And, yesterday I started thinking about another one I want. So, if my math is correct I'm acquiring new Ukuleles at a rate slightly greater than one a week. My wife is perplexed, and my dog is beginning to feel displaced. Not to mention the fact I'm running out of storage space. But the bottom line is, I'm loving every minute of it! :p
 
For me it started rather simple... I got my first uke (laminate mahogany soprano) as a kind of bonus from work. It didn't cost me anything and it was something I wanted to try. I was hooked and played at least an hour every evening. Once I determined this was something I really liked I started searching the UU marketplace and reading reviews. I new I wanted a quality solid wood uke. The rest didn't matter (size, type of wood, pineapple). I did not look specifically for a KoAloha, but the right one showed up at a very nice price, so I bought it. Best decision! The sound is so much better it makes playing that much more fun, and I didn't think that was possible!!

Now my UAS has taken control! I have one custom being made (mahogany/walnut pineapple) and I am getting ready to work with another luthier on a custom electric. Finally... Going to get a dolphin to be my car uke. Do I need any of these? Probably not. I absolutely think upgrading to the KoAloha was the right thing to do, but the ones after that... I tell myself that they will all sound/play differently so I need them, but the truth is I would be quite happy for a long time with what I have.
 
VegasGeorge said:
An honest answer? Well, I seem to have gotten the itch for a new Ukulele on an average of once every other day for the last couple of months. I mean seriously, I joined UU on July 15 this year. That pretty much identifies the date on which I decided to get serious about Ukulele again after a 15 to 20 year break. Since then I have acquired no less than 13 new Ukuleles, 3 of which haven't been delivered yet. And, yesterday I started thinking about another one I want. So, if my math is correct I'm acquiring new Ukuleles at a rate slightly greater than one a week. My wife is perplexed, and my dog is beginning to feel displaced. Not to mention the fact I'm running out of storage space. But the bottom line is, I'm loving every minute of it! :p
Click to expand...

THIRTEEN ukes since July 15th............I love you man. You sir are a shining example of how it is done. I have been playing 6 months, have in my possession 6 ukes with another in transit and a custom due for delivery in December. I feel like a total light weight compared to you.

To the person asking the question, it's been answered.............just buy another, and another and :music:
 
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